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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26465203">AITA</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kjack89/pseuds/kjack89'>kjack89</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Les Misérables - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Developing Relationship, M/M, reddit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:21:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,487</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26465203</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kjack89/pseuds/kjack89</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A half hour later, Grantaire had scrolled through what felt like half of twitter before he stumbled upon a random tweet that linked to an ‘Am I the Asshole?’ post on the subreddit of the same name, and he glanced at the clock before deciding he had enough time to waste a couple of hours on a whole new level of misery.</p><p>He might’ve kept scrolling for hours, when he stumbled upon an AITA post that was surprisingly familiar.</p><p>Suspiciously familiar.</p><p>Like he had lived it.</p><p>He hesitated for only a moment before clicking on the post.</p><p> </p><p>  <em>Posted by u/RadianceoftheFuture 8 hours ago</em><br/><strong>AITA for kicking my friend out of a protest?</strong></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Enjolras/Grantaire (Les Misérables)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>338</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>AITA</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Usual disclaimer. Please be kind and tip your fanfic writers in the form of comments and/or kudos!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The sun was bright and the mood, all things considered, was high, as the crowd gathered by the river in preparation for the march downtown to call for defunding the police. Black Lives Matter was leading the protest, and Enjolras had volunteered Les Amis to serve as support and allies in whatever way they could, which mostly meant making sure folks were wearing masks and that no one decided to try something stupid with the cops.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good crowd,” Courfeyrac remarked, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet as he glanced around before looking back at Enjolras. “As much as I’m sure it’s killing you that they’re only calling for defunding and not abolition.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, not even a year ago, no one was talking about defunding the police,” Enjolras pointed out, a little sourly, adjusting his mask, which was emblazoned with WHITE SILENCE IS VIOLENCE. “I’ll take what progress I can get.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Courfeyrac smirked. “You sound practically moderate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Enjolras scowled. “Take that back, or—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His threat was cut off by the arrival of Joly, Bossuet and Grantaire. It was hard to tell by the masks all three wore, but Enjolras was pretty sure that all three were grinning, and judging by the way Bossuet was swaying, just slightly, it wasn’t just because they were in a good mood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll take it you three decided to hit up a brunch spot on your way here?” Enjolras asked, even more sourly than before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A man has to eat,” Joly said innocently, which would have gone over much more believably had he not giggled at the end.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Besides, we only ordered one drink,” Bossuet assured him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Enjolras pinched the bridge of his nose. “Let me guess,” he said dryly, “you each ordered a bottomless mimosa.” He didn’t wait for any of them to confirm it. “And how many refills of said drink did you also order?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joly and Bossuet looked at each other and laughed, and Grantaire pulled his mask down to grin lazily at Enjolras. “Let me put it this way,” he said, “more than one and less than ten.” He paused. “Probably. I did lose track after about seven.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Snickering, Joly and Bossuet headed over to join the rest of Les Amis, but when Grantaire made to follow, Enjolras blocked him, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “You’re drunk,” he said accusingly, and Grantaire’s grinned widened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m sure as shit not sober.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Put your mask back on,” Enjolras ordered, less concerned for himself, as Grantaire was part of his quarantine bubble, and more for everyone else milling around before the march started. Especially any journalists who might love to get a shot of BLM protesters breaking the mask mandate. “And go home, Grantaire.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grantaire slowly pulled his mask back up over his mouth and nose, smoothing it into place before looking at Enjolras plaintively, all trace of humor vanishing from his expression. “Let me stay here,” he said, his voice soft, and not just from the cotton that covered his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Enjolras shook his head, well aware that even if Grantaire might suddenly sound sober, he wasn’t. “Go home,” he repeated. “The last thing we need is your drunk ass picking a fight with the cops or something worse and turning this whole thing into a riot instead of the peaceful protest its organizers intended.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, you think I’m incapable of going two or three hours without starting a brawl?” Grantaire asked, incredulous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Enjolras arched an eyebrow. “I think you’re incapable of a great many things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grantaire’s lip curled. “Like believing, thinking, willing, living and dying?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only you seem to think you’re incapable of dying,” Enjolras said quietly, before repeating, one more time, “Go home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Grantaire shook his head, taking a step toward him. “If you’re so worried about it, then send Bahorel home, too!” he insisted. “Send home Joly and Bossuet who are just as drunk as I am. Or else let me stay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Enjolras said the word calmly, but Grantaire recoiled as if he had shorted. “And why not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I trust them!” Enjolras burst, his temper getting the better of him, and he scrubbed a hand across his face before adding, what he hoped was a calmer way, “I trust them to actually listen to my instructions and keep themselves out of trouble.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But something in Grantaire’s face clouded as soon as Enjolras had said that he trusted them, and Enjolras had a bad feeling that he hadn’t really listened to the last part. “Right,” Grantaire said, a little dully, already turning away. “Well. I’ll see you later, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Grantaire,” Enjolras sighed, reaching out to catch his arm, but Grantaire shrugged him off, wandering towards the river, the hunch of his shoulders the only indication that he had any care in the world. Enjolras stared after him for a long moment, his expression troubled.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Four days later, Grantaire rolled over in bed when his phone buzzed. He picked it up off his nightstand, saw that it was a text from Enjolras, and immediately tossed it down again, groaning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t talked to Enjolras since that morning of the BLM protest, and at this rate, he wasn’t sure he ever wanted to. Not when he knew that Enjolras didn’t trust him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joly would tell him he was being dramatic, and Bossuet would tell him to just text Enjolras and apologize and move on, and since Grantaire wanted to hear neither of those things, he also wasn’t talking to Joly or Bossuet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, he rolled over onto his stomach, grabbing his phone and stubbornly ignoring the text message from Enjolras still sitting, unread, in his messages. Instead, he clicked on twitter, figuring if he was going to sulk, he might as well sulk while reading about someone else’s misery.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A half hour later, Grantaire had scrolled through what felt like half of twitter before he stumbled upon a random tweet that linked to an ‘Am I the Asshole?’ post on the subreddit of the same name, and he glanced at the clock before deciding he had enough time to waste a couple of hours on a whole new level of misery.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He might’ve kept scrolling for hours, when he stumbled upon an AITA post that was surprisingly familiar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suspiciously familiar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like he had lived it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hesitated for only a moment before clicking on the post.</span>
</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>Posted by u/RadianceoftheFuture 8 hours ago<br/>
</span>
    </em>
    <b>AITA for kicking my friend out of a protest?</b>
  </p>
  <p>
    <span>So I (25M) was attending a BLM protest the other day with the social justice organization I run. One of my friends, who we’ll call ‘R” (28M), showed up drunk and, IMO, looking to start a fight. This was the last thing I wanted, since we were there to be good allies, and starting fights or inciting a riot as white folks who will get away with it ain’t it. So naturally, I told him to go home.</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <span>Now here’s where I may be the asshole. R started arguing with me, and pointed out that some our other friends who were also there were also drunk, and one of our other friends who was there has a history of starting fights, so he asked me why I wasn’t making them leave. I told him it was because I trusted them.</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <span>Which is true, but not exactly how I wanted to word it, and I could tell that he was hurt by the implication that I didn’t trust him. And I </span>
    <em>
      <span>do</span>
    </em>
    <span> trust him, but I also didn’t want to spend the entire time worried about him. Anyway, he left, and he hasn’t talked to me since. If I’m the asshole, I want to apologize so that we can go back to being friends, and even if I wasn’t, I still want to figure out a way for us to talk again. I miss him. So tell me, AITA?</span>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>
  <span>Grantaire stared at his phone, torn between something warm spreading in his chest at the fact that Enjolras cared enough to ask anonymous strangers on the internet about this, and freaking out because Enjolras had </span>
  <em>
    <span>posted about their disagreement on the internet.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The man had only two speeds, it seemed, and somehow, Grantaire always ended up dealing with Enjolras on the highest speed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Numbly, and mostly in an attempt to gather his thoughts, Grantaire scrolled through the comments on the post, unsurprised to see a decent mix of judgements from the redditors. More than expected YTAs (you’re the asshole), plus a number of NTAs (not the asshole), and, predominantly, a smattering of NAH (no assholes here).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Halfway down the page, he paused, realizing that the person who had written the post had responded to a question.</span>
</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>u/oldcoats_oldfriends - 7 hours ago<br/>
</span>
    </em>
    <span>INFO: why do you trust your other friends and not R?</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>u/RadianceoftheFuture - 6 hours ago<br/>
</span>
    </em>
    <span>Because R has a history of getting himself in trouble, whether by running his mouth off when he shouldn’t or picking fights with guys twice his side, and the trouble he gets into tends to happen after he’s been drinking. So when you put the two together, I was worried he’d do something stupid and get himself locked up or worse. And since keeping an eye on the rest of the protest was important, I knew I couldn’t afford to be distracted by also keeping an eye on him.</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <span>And for the record, I trust R with a lot. He’s not as ideological as a lot of us, doesn’t even have a lot of the same beliefs, but I know he would never do anything to hurt the cause, or me. Of course, he might not HELP the Cause, or me, but still. I’ve never once doubted that R would take a bullet for me, if it came to that. I would just never in a million years want him to.</span>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>
  <span>Grantaire swallowed, hard. Of course he would take a bullet for Enjolras, or more, but it had never occurred to him that knowing that might make Enjolras worried. Worried that Grantaire would do something stupid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If only the man knew that Grantaire worried about Enjolras in exactly the same way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hesitating for only a moment, he decided to leave a comment of his own.</span>
</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>u/MyFullGlass1832 - 1 minute ago<br/>
</span>
    </em>
    <span>NAH. Sure your friend shouldn’t have been drunk and you were right to kick him out, but drinking doesn’t make him an asshole (though not talking to you might). I am curious why you would have been worried about him. He’s a grown man and not your responsibility.</span>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>
  <span>He quickly closed out of reddit, not wanting to do something stupid and refresh until Enjolras responded, but he only half-paid attention to the tweets he scrolled past, glancing at the clock to see if it was still pathetic for him to check for a response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But to his shock, when he finally gave in and checked forty-five minutes later, Enjolras had answered, and something in Grantaire’s stomach twisted to know that he was still checking the thread, still seeking a resolution.</span>
</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>u/RadianceoftheFuture - 39 minutes ago<br/>
</span>
    </em>
    <span>Maybe ‘worried about’ is the wrong term, but he’s my friend. I didn’t want him to get hurt, or worse, because he was drunk. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s gotten hurt on my watch, and everytime it happens, it’s awful. And not just because he won’t shut up about it for the next six months - I always feel so guilty, like I should’ve been protecting him. I know that’s not realistic, so the very least I can do is send him home when I think he’s liable to hurt himself. That way I can sleep at night knowing I did what I could.</span>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>
  <span>The breath caught in Grantaire’s throat, and his chest felt tight, especially as he read the follow up comments.</span>
</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>u/valiant.artisan - 34 minutes ago<br/>
</span>
    </em>
    <span>INFO: Are you and R gay?</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>u/tremble_b4apoppy - 26 minutes ago<br/>
</span>
    </em>
    <span>Dude you may be in love with R.</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>u/timidinrepose - 21 minutes ago<br/>
</span>
    </em>
    <span>OMG this is the sweetest thing I’ve read all day.</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>u/Lymantria_dispar - 12 minutes ago<br/>
</span>
    </em>
    <span>Pretty sure this might go a little beyond just friendship. Either way, I’m glad you care about your friend, and even though you weren’t TA, you should call him and explain why you told him to go home. </span>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>
  <span>Grantaire couldn’t seem to stop his stupid smile as he stared at the computer, and this time, he didn’t hesitate, opening his text chain with Enjolras without reading any of Enjolras’s previous texts. He didn’t need to read them know.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>NTA.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He sent the text and held his breath, wondering if Enjolras would acknowledge it, immediately, or try to play it cool. His one word answer indicated the latter: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sorry?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>But Grantaire wasn’t nearly as willing to play it coy. Not anymore. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Your AITA post. I’m giving you my judgment. NTA.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>In his mind, he could see Enjolras blush, that same way he did when he was frustrated, two spots of color rising high in his cheek as he stared at Grantaire. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You saw that?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Even in his mind, it was a beautiful sight. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Then you should know, I agree with the majority opinion.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The image of Enjolras blushing disappeared, leaving Grantaire blinking at his phone, his brow furrowed as he tried to think of what the majority option would have been. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>NAH.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Grantaire grinned, but before he could respond, Enjolras texted, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Want to come over? I think I owe you an explanation in person.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I thought you’d never ask.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>u/ RadianceoftheFuture - 45 minutes ago<br/>
</span>
    </em>
    <b>UPDATE: AITA for kicking my friend out of a protest?</b>
  </p>
  <p>
    <span>(</span>
    <span class="u">
      <span>Original.</span>
    </span>
    <span>)</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <span>Thank you all very much for your feedback in the original post. There were a variety of perspectives on this, but some of the comments on the original post made me realize that I may in fact feel something more than friendship towards R, and it’s a good thing I figured it out, because he found the post, and even commented on it without me knowing! Anyway, we talked, I explained how I felt, and it turns out R’s had a thing for me pretty much since he’s known me. Anyway, we’re dating now, and while this isn’t exactly going to solve my problem of worrying about him, I also think he’ll be on somewhat better behavior now. For my sake at least.</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <span>We still have a lot to work on together, but we’re moving in the right direction. And to think, I probably never would’ve figured it out if it weren’t for reddit, of all the websites. </span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>u/MyFullGlass1832 - 3 minutes ago<br/>
</span>
    </em>
    <span>WIBTA for hijacking my boyfriend’s reddit post to tell him that I love him?</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>u/ RadianceoftheFuture - 2 minutes ago<br/>
</span>
    </em>
    <span>YTA for sitting literally two feet away from me and responding to a reddit post when we could be doing something far more exciting.</span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>u/MyFullGlass1832 - 1 minute ago<br/>
</span>
    </em>
    <span>...good point.</span>
  </p>
</blockquote>
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